Univision’s Fourth Quarter, Full Year Revenue Rises

Spanish-lingo media conglom Univision Communications reported a spike in both fourth quarter and full year net revs of 2013 on Thursday.

Company’s 2013 fourth quarter net revs rose 3.6% to $696.2 million from $671.7 million in the same time frame in 2012. Its full year, ending Dec. 31, 2013, saw a 7.6% increase in net revs to $2,627.4 million from $2,442.0 million the year prior.

Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization jumped 11.7% to $1,120.4 million in 2013 compared to $1.003.2 million in 2012.

News comes as its TV unit continues to grow in terms of ratings and additional networks while its radio and digital revs decline. Univision’s fourth quarter saw the official launches of its English-language youth-skewed entertainment networks Fusion and El Rey as well as social media portal Flama.

Just 20 months old, Univision Deportes ended 2013 as the fastest-growing cable network in any language in both total day and primetime, per Univision Prexy and CEO Randy Falco.

Fusion’s distribution has yet to reach measurable levels but it is “creatively on track,” said Falco.

Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey, which launched the week of December 15, is currently available on Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications and DirecTV.

In a conference call with investors, Falco commented on the pending merger between Comcast and Time Warner, both of which Univision has separate deals: “It’s a cause for concern that requires a significant amount of scrutiny on our part; we’ll have to see what it means to the entire industry, not just Univision.”

Univision Network further cemented its position as the fifth network in the U.S, and even ranked number one, ahead of ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX, on more nights in 2013 compared to 2012 in primetime among Adults 18-49 (51 nights compared to 32) and Adults 18-34 (82 nights compared to 80).

Additionally, Univision continued to draw one of the youngest audiences (median age of 40) and the highest percentage of live viewers (94%) in primetime during the quarter compared to ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, regardless of language.

Univision has recently joined forces with Variety to create VarietyLatino.com, which will be available across Univision’s digital platforms, TV networks and local stations. The joint venture is slated to launch Feb. 27, just in time for the Oscars.